Terms of Use

These terms of use (the "Terms") govern your access to hcclaudius.com, the portal at app.hcclaudius.com, and the services the HC Claudius desk provides (the "Services"). By using the Services you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Services.

HC Claudius is a micro-M&A desk that helps founders and buyers of small digital businesses. References to "we", "us", and "our" mean HC Claudius.

1. Who may use the Services

You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter a binding contract. If you use the Services for a company, you confirm that you are authorised to bind it.

2. Accounts

Some Services, including the buyer membership and the seller intake, require an account. Provide accurate information, keep your sign-in details secure, and tell us promptly about any unauthorised use. You are responsible for activity under your account. We may suspend or close an account that breaches these Terms.

3. The Services

The Services include:

• curated deal flow and a buyer membership;
• seller listing packages and deal positioning;
• advisory, audits, and managed exit work;
• the newsletter, the Strategic Drops podcast, and the book;
• the portal, bookings, messaging, and related tools.

We may add, change, or withdraw a Service at any time. Access to some features depends on your plan, and we may set or change usage limits.

4. Buyer membership

Buyer memberships are annual and billed yearly. The Premium membership is shown as $49 per month, billed yearly at $588, and renews automatically for successive yearly terms unless you cancel before the renewal date.

Payments are processed by PayPal. By subscribing, you authorise the recurring charge. You can cancel at any time; cancellation stops the next renewal, and your access continues to the end of the period you paid for. Membership payments are non-refundable and we do not refund partial periods, as set out in section 6 (No refunds). Membership benefits are personal and may not be shared or resold.

5. Seller listings and fees

Seller listing packages are a one-time fee plus a success fee on a completed sale. The Inner Circle is $299 and the Partner Network is $499, each plus a 10% success fee on the final sale price when the deal closes. The listing fee is earned when we begin work and is non-refundable, as set out in section 6 (No refunds). The success fee is separate and is only due when a sale completes.

The success fee is due when a sale completes that we introduced or materially assisted, including a sale to a buyer we introduced that closes within a reasonable period after your listing ends. You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you give us, for having the right to sell the business, and for your own legal, tax, and accounting compliance.

6. No refunds

The Services are digital and are delivered immediately. Because we cannot take back a membership, a listing, or the work we have already done, all fees are non-refundable, including membership payments, listing fees, and any other one-time charges. This applies whether or not you use the Service and whether you cancel early.

Where you have a statutory right to cancel or withdraw, you ask us to begin the Service immediately and you acknowledge that you lose that right once the Service has started. Nothing in this section affects rights that cannot be waived under the law that applies to you.

7. Listings, content, and conduct

You must not post false, misleading, or unlawful content; infringe another person's rights; scrape or resell the Services; attempt to bypass security or access controls; upload malware; or use the Services to harass, spam, or defraud. Listings and business details are provided by the parties, not by us, and may change.

We may review, edit, refuse, or remove a listing or other content, and may suspend a user, at our discretion.

8. No advice, no guarantee

HC Claudius is not a law firm, an accounting firm, or a licensed financial adviser, and we do not provide legal, tax, accounting, or investment advice. We are not a licensed broker-dealer and we do not offer securities. Nothing on the Services is an offer to buy or sell a security.

Buying or selling a business carries risk. We do not guarantee a buyer, a sale, a valuation, a multiple, a timeline, or any particular outcome. You are responsible for your own due diligence and for seeking professional advice.

9. Intellectual property

The Services and their content, including text, design, logos, and materials, are owned by HC Claudius or its licensors and are protected by law. You may share links to the Services, but you may not copy, extract, or reuse them for commercial purposes without our written consent, including by data mining or scraping.

You keep ownership of the content you submit. You give us a licence to host, display, and use that content to provide the Services and to market listings, as described in our Privacy Policy.

10. Third-party services

The Services rely on third parties including Cloudflare (hosting), PayPal (payments), our email provider, and Spotify (the podcast). Links to third-party sites are provided for convenience and are governed by their own terms and privacy policies. We are not responsible for third-party content or services.

11. Disclaimers

The Services are provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Services will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free, or that any content is accurate or complete.

12. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent allowed by law, HC Claudius is not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for loss of profit, revenue, data, goodwill, or opportunity, arising from your use of the Services or reliance on any content, even if we were advised of the possibility. Our total liability for any claim relating to the Services is limited to the greater of the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim or $100. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited.

13. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless HC Claudius from claims, losses, and costs (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your content, your use of the Services, your breach of these Terms, or your dealings with another user.

14. Termination

You may stop using the Services at any time. We may suspend or end your access if you breach these Terms, if the law requires it, or if we discontinue a Service. Sections that by their nature should survive, including fees owed, intellectual property, disclaimers, liability, indemnity, and governing law, survive termination.

15. Changes to the Services and these Terms

We may change the Services and these Terms. If we make a material change, we will post it on this page and update the date at the top. Continued use after a change means you accept the updated Terms. If you do not agree, stop using the Services.

16. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. The parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Delaware, and each party waives any objection to venue there. Before filing a claim, the parties will try in good faith to resolve the dispute informally by contacting us.

17. General

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any additional terms for a Service, are the entire agreement between you and us. If a provision is unenforceable, the rest stays in force. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

18. Contact

Questions about these Terms can go to [email protected].